Somalia is warning business owners and private citizens against paying money to al-Shabaab as the government seeks to undermine the system the terrorist group uses to funds its operations.
Experts estimate that al-Shabaab needs $100 million a year to arm and pay fighters, build bombs, and carry out attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Somalia’s national budget is $250 million by comparison.
The al-Qaida affiliate accumulates that enormous amount of money through a complex web of crimes, including extorting shippers at the country’s ports, posting checkpoints on major roads, blocking roads to force travelers to travel through al-Shabaab-controlled communities, and forcing businesses and citizens under its influence to pay a “tax” on property known as zakat.
“Al-Shabaab has built a sophisticated criminal enterprise, compromising multiple levels of governance and coercing a wide variety of businesses and communities into compliance,” analyst Wendy Williams wrote in an essay for the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
Al-Shabaab holds sway in 10 of Somalia’s 18 federal states where it keeps lists of citizens and what they own in order to impose its 2.5% tax. Victims who refuse to pay could be killed.
“The combination of intelligence and threat of violence allows al-Shabaab to tap shipping imports and real estate transactions despite having no physical control over commercial hubs like Mogadishu and Bossaso,” Williams wrote.
Somali leaders announced legal action against any businesses that pay al-Shabaab or collaborate with the terrorist group. Legal action could include revoking government-issued permits needed for doing business.
“Do not let your wealth destroy your life because security forces are prepared to act against anyone attempting to collaborate with these groups,” Somalia’s Minister of Internal Security Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail said during a recent public announcement with Attorney General Sulayman Mohamed Mohamoud and Minister of Religious Affairs Mukhtar Ali Robow.
The recent announcement echoed a similar announcement by Somali authorities in 2022.
At that time, the Somali Ministry of Commerce and Industry threatened to confiscate the property of any company doing business with al-Shabaab.
“Any merchant who obeys instructions issued by the terrorists, and pays them income, will never be allowed to do business in Somalia again,” the ministry announced at that time.
In 2023, the Somali government closed 250 bank accounts and 70 mobile money accounts belonging to al-Shabaab militants.
The government continues to track al-Shabaab’s funding sources, according to Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf al-Adala.
Despite the government’s efforts to destroy it financially, al-Shabaab survives by maintaining financial connections outside Somalia. The group uses companies in Kenya, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates to transfer money, often using the informal network of money brokers known as hawala to avoid financial sanctions and international banking regulations.
Somali officials argue that by paying al-Shabaab, Somali businesses and individuals are directly harming their fellow citizens.
According to Moalim Mahdi, police commander for the Banadir region, each al-Shabaab bombing in Mogadishu costs up to $80,000 — money paid by business owners.
“Moving these explosives into the city requires substantial financial support,” Mahdi told VOA.
Somali authorities hope that undermining al-Shabaab’s finances ultimately will cripple its ability to carry out attacks.
During his recent appearance with other Somali leaders, Robow, a former al-Shabaab fighter, said there is no justification for paying al-Shabaab because it actively harms other Somalis.
“Those who attempt to justify their support for terrorism will find no refuge,” Robow said.